WELLESLEY, Massachusetts
United States
Rutgers College
University of Pittsburgh
U.S. Army
Johnson & Johnson
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
L.L. Bean
Wm. M. Mercer Consulting
Coopers & Lybrand Consulting
RetirementJobs.com
Wilkes Barre, PA
Plainfield, NJ
Oak Park, IL
Brunswick, ME
Boston, MA
"Well, I guess every form of refuge has its price".
Working at 50+Where the Jobs Are
There have been sweeping changes to the US labor markets in just the past year. Jobs in occupations, industries and communities that were prospering in 2007 and early 2008 have virtually evaporated. Other occupations, industries and locations have emerged as relatively good places to work and seek employment.
Occupations
The occupations and professions that were strong in the past few years have remained strong and offer the best opportunities. Nurses, teachers, home care aides, accountants, vehicle drivers, engineers and scientists can find work with some ease. Retail clerks, bank tellers, commercial and consumer lenders, financial analysts, food servers and cooks, manufacturing workers, warehousers, and real estate agents are the most affected by the declining economy and loss of jobs.
The occupations that are in the best condition are those related to life's essentials - food, healthcare, energy, transportation, education and government (though you might challenge me on this last one).
Industries
Federal government, healthcare, accounting, education, engineering, food manufacturing and distribution, energy production and transportation are the major bright spots where labor and skill shortages have meant continued job openings and relatively secure employment. The economy has taken a heavy toll on jobs in retailing, fast food and restaurants, finance, manufacturing (particularly auto manufacturing and sales) and the housing sector.
Locations
This is the biggest surprise of all. States and regions that have prospered for years, such as the Southwest, Florida, North and South Carolina, California, and the Midwest have fallen on their face economically. Many of these traditional "retirement havens" have double-digit unemployment, dramatic declines in housing prices and growing state government deficits.
The best states and communities to find a job and live affordably are in smaller and “more out of the way” places including New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah, New Mexico, South and North Dakota, Nebraska and Montana.
Do retirees and pre-retirees really relocate to areas where the jobs are more plentiful? I suspect not – it’s usually to be closer to children or to a more temperate climate. Still, if you have notions of relocation, it appears that these big open spaces of quite low unemployment and low cost-of-living could be just the place to ride out your retirement. Do you know of any great places to live where there are good prospects of being employed?
Bob Skladany
Taxpayer dollars should not be used to bail out insurance companies and the auto industry. Rather it should be used to generate factory jobs--even if we need to subsidize factory owners and workers themselves. Take some money to finance government projects like those funded in the New Deal. Our jobs must not go overseas. Do whatever it takes to keep them here. Don't put money into the mismanaged Detroit car industry but require foreign carmakers which are already in the US (most in the South) to use more American-made parts for those cars.
Bob - Wisconsin is a great place to live! I was born and raised there! The people are extremely friendly and the cost of living is much lower than here in Florida. I am seriously thinking about moving back there because I am currently unemployed and want to increase my chances of finding a job and reducing my cost of living.
Thanks for providing the insight on what are the highest growth jobs -- I was going to go back for a second degree in Accounting but was turned off at low entry level salaries I was finding during my research. I am instead working on my MBA since I have been in management most of my career. I have also started my own consulting business to help business owners reduce their cost of accepting debit and credit cards. My site is located at www.processwiseconsulting.org
I sincerely believe that we need to vacate Iracq and spend the money at home. I periodically have to travel to Miami early in the morning, and it saddens me to see the number of homeless people that are sleeping on the streets using flattened cardboard boxes as mattresses. I would prefer for President Obama to spend the money on helping the homeless and the people without jobs here in America rather than spending American money abroad.
Have a nice day!
Jean
Your comments are generally good. I would like to add an opinion or two. Government at all levels is too big. I wish we could reduce the size and extent of government, and reestablish the notion that the government - over the log term - can only give back to the people what it first takes away.
The true creation of wealth requires conversion of raw materials into usable products, a process known as "manufacturing", which is in decline as a percentage of our Gross National Product, unfortunately. Farming can be considered a type of manufacturing, and making things certainly qualifies. But the service jobs are fragile, as witness the current high unemployment. Selling hambirgers to each other does not create or maintain economic prosperity.
I do NOT believe that excessive spending by the federal government can restore prosperity. I am opposed to further deficit spending by the federal government. I would prefer that we all get our financial affairs in order, live within our means, and make the federal government STOP printing money, a sure fire tactic to cause runaway INFLATION
